Shaukat Azizs name absent from PML-Qs list of candidates

Islamabad, Nov 24 (ANI): The name of former Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz did not appear in the list of 109 finalised candidates for the National Assembly from Punjab. The parliamentary board of the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid) finalised names of its candidates for 109 of the 148 general seats of the National Assembly from Punjab. Sources said that Aziz wanted to contest from Kashmore in Sindh, but prominent politician Maqbool Sheikh has applied for the seat. “I will be the second choice if the ticket is allotted to Aziz,” the Dawn quoted Sheikh, as saying. PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is likely to contest from NA 59 earlier represented by Aziz. The sources said that it was difficult for the parliamentary board to finalise the list of all candidates in three days, and added that the board was finding it hard to pick suitable candidates for most of the remaining constituencies. The party was not able to take a decision on the seats with stronger opposition candidates. Former minister Dr Sher Afgan Niazi, a staunch supporter of Musharraf, has not been allotted a ticket. He wants to contest as an independent candidate as he had done in the past. Meanwhile, the PPP has finalised its candidates from Sindh. (ANI)